Again, Avowed Is The Next Xbox Title To Ship With A Steelbook And No Game Inside

Just recently, it was made very apparent the essential standing for physical releases. Despite the convenience of purchasing digital, they are no use without any live servers as pointed out by the PlayStation Network outage last weekend. However, platform holders continue to push towards intangible ownership for game licenses remains to hinder this. Especially Xbox when it is massively slimming its physical release sector dramatically.

From Microsoft, the firm has continued this path of online-only purchasing for its titles such as Hellblade II: Senua’s Saga last year. However, there are games that feature physical releases without the actual disc in the box. Previously we witnessed this with Halo 5: Guardians and then this past November returned this pattern with Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 as well.

Now this week comes the release of Avowed. While an anticipated release, it has been pushed to the current February release date. Although using this time to patch in a 60hz update for Xbox Series X at least, the game does also fall in line with the last steelbook edition that released this past fall. Via BestBuy, the Avowed Premium Edition as well does not offer a physical disc.

“Premium Edition SteelBook includes: Avowed base game, Avowed SteelBook, Living Lands map, two Premium Skin Packs, and access to Avowed Digital Artbook & Original Soundtrack,” the description reads. The title, however, points out that this edition only features “Avowed – Code in Box” and not the full game on a disc instead.

Rectify Gaming did review Avowed offering a score of 8.5/10. “Avowed may not revolutionize the RPG genre, but it excels in delivering a deep, challenging, and time-intensive experience. While its mechanics feel familiar, the game’s lengthy questlines, strategic battles, and rewarding character progression ensure players remain engaged.” You can read the full piece by heading here.

Are you at all surprised by this new pattern for Xbox games?

Avowed is out now for Xbox Series X|S & PC.